Block-press.



'No. 770,251. I PATENTED SEPT. 20, 1904.

Witnes I I W s 3., G.'& A. ARNSBN.

BLOCK PRESS.

APPLICATION FILED APR. 30, 1904.

N0 MODEL. I 2 SHEETSSHBET 1.

. 4r; "7 A v I l 1 I Attorneys Inventors PATENTED SEPT. 20, 1904.

3., G. & A. ARNSEN.

BLOCK PRESS.

APPLICATION PILEDAPR. so, 1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

NO MODEL.

NITED STATES Patented September 20, 1904.

PATENT Orricn.

RICHARD ARNSEN, GOTHARD ARNSEN, AND ARN ARNSEN, OF ESCANABA, MICHIGAN.

BLOCK-PRESS- SPECIFIGATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 770,251, dated September 20, 1904.

Application filed April 30, 1904. Serial No- 205 .846. (No model.)

To all whom, it may concern.-

Be it known that we, RICHARD ARNsEN, GorHARD ARNsEN, and ARN ARNSEN, citizens of the United States, residing at Escanaba, in the county of Delta and State of Michigan, have invented a new and useful Block-Press, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to improvements in presses for the manufacture of blocks of plastic or other material to be used for building and other purposes, and has for its principal object to provide a novel form of press by which the blocks may be made expeditiously and in which the press proper cooperates with a plurality of molds into which the plastic or other material is placed ready for compression.

A further object of the invention is to provide a novel form of press in connection with a traveling mold-carrier, so arranged that three of the molds may be rapidly placed in position in the press and in which the parts are so arranged that the pressure will not be exerted on the rolls, wheels, or other similar elements employed as supports for the mold carrier.

it-h these and other objects in View, as will more fully hereinafter appear, the invention consists in the novel construction and arrangement of parts hereinafter fully described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and particularly pointed out in the appended claims, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportions, size, and minor details of the structure may be made without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages of the invention. v

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l is a sectional elevation of a block-press constructed in accordance with the invention, the

molds being shown with one of the side plates Fig. 2 is an end elevation of the same. partly in section. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the press proper. Fig. 4 is a detail perspective view of a block to be made with the press. Fig. 5 is a perspective view of a portion of one of the molds.

detached.

Similar numerals of reference are employed to indicate corresponding parts throughout the several figures of the drawings.

The working parts of the apparatus are supported in a suitable frame including sills or base-bars l and a plurality of standards 2, that are connected together at their upper ends by cross-bars 3. The sill supports aheavy frame 4, on which are placed rails 5, the latter serving as supports and guides for the flanged wheels 6 of a mold-carrier 7, and on this carrier are placed any desired number of molds, two being shown in the present instance. Each of the molds has a base-plate 8, provided with outwardly-extending ears or lugs, to which are pivoted two side plates 10 and two end plates 11, these being of any desired contour and carrying as many as necessary core-sections to be used for formation of openings in the sides or the ends of the blocks to be made, and in the present instance each of the end plates carries a core member 12 for the formation of end recesses 13 in blocks of the character shown in Fig. 4:, and the end plates are further shaped so as to form cores or grooves 14 at the ends of the block to afford space for the mortar, cement, or other material. Projecting upward from the bottom of the mold are a number of detachable cores 15 for the formation of air-spaces 16 in the block, these cores being preferably made removable, so that the design of the block may be altered as desired. The side and end plates are so pivoted as to swing clear of the wheels of the block after the completion of the molding operation and the mold is opened to remove the block, and when in open position the plates may rest against brackets 18, supported on the carrier 7. When moved to vertical position ready for the molding operation,the plates are held by crossbars 20, which are inserted in cam-slots 21, formed in' brackets 22, and project from the opposite ends of the end plates. The bars have hooked-shaped ends. which fit over the plates 22, and the outer edges of the brackets are provided with cam-shoulders 23, so that with a single pair of clamping-bars the two end plates may be drawn toward each other and the two side plates may also be drawn toward each other and the whole firmly locked together to form the mold.

Two molds are. shown in the present instance of precisely the same construction and are so constructed that when one is under the press the other is at one side of the press, and the previously-compressed block may be removed and the mold refilled in readiness for a second pressing operation. To facilitate the removal of the block from the mold, a removable bottom plate is placed in the bottom of the mold, said plates being provided with'suitable openings for the passage of the core members, and the complete block is removed on the plate and remains thereon until the cement has set sufficiently to permit its safe removal.

The press mechanism proper is supported by the standards 2 and crossbars 3. To the top of the cross-bars is bolted a plate 80, the bolts 31 extending down below the sills 1 and being provided with securing devices, such as nuts, at a point below the plane of the molds. In the central portion of the plate is formed an opening for the passage of the unthreaded portion of a screw-shaft 32, having at its upper end a power-transmitting lever,(represented in the present instance by a bevel-gear 33,) and this may be actuated by any suitable mechanism,or.any other form of power-transmitting mechanism may be substituted therefor. The lower end of the shaft is stepped in a cross-bar 34:, and on the threaded portion of this shaft is a nut 36, having pro ecting ears, to which are pivoted the ends of links 37, the opposite ends of said links being pivotally connected to toggle-levers 38. i

The upper ends of the toggle-levers are pivoted to gears 39, depending from the plate 30, and the lower ends of said toggle-levers are pivoted to a plate 10, that is provided with suitable openings for the passage of the bolts 31, the latter acting as guides in order to keep the plate from lateral displacement. To this plate 40 is secured a presserblock 11, having its end surface shaped to conform to the upper surface of the block or brick to be made and provided, preferably, with openings for the reception of the upper ends of the core members 15, and said core members are slightly tapered to facilitate their entrance into the openings of the presserblock and to permit the ready removal of the finished block.

In the operation of the device a removable bottom plate is placed in the bottom of the mold-box, and the side and end plates are then moved to vertical position and locked by the bars 20. The concrete, clay, or any other material to be molded is then shoveled or poured into the box and, if necessary, is tamped prior to the pressing operation. The carrier 7 is then moved to present the moldbox under the presser-block 41, the latter be- When the mold-box arrives at the the rails 55, and the carrier will sink down until its mold-supporting plate rests on the block 51, supported by the plate 1, and during the action of the press-block the strain is resisted not by the wheels 6, but by the block 51, so that there is no danger Whatever of injury to the wheels by distraction of their axles or supports by the heavy pressure exerted upon the block. The presser-block is raised after the completion of the pressing operation, and the carriage is again moved in reversed direction in order that the mold, together with the finished block, may be moved to a position at one side of the press and taken from the mold.

The blocks made by the machine may be of the character illustrated and in this case are formed of concrete or some similar mixture and used for building purposes; but the press is equally well adapted for the formation of clay or fire bricks or for the molding and compression of blocks of any material whateversuch, for instance, as peat blocks to be used for fuel or blocks of various constructions to be used for paving or other purposes.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is 1. In combination, a press including a wheeled carrier, a pair of molds carried thereby, a backing-block on which the carrier may rest during the operation of the press, and

rails provlded with notches for the reception of the wheels of the carrier.

2. The combination with a base, of a platform having sets of wheels arranged adjacent to its opposite ends, a pair of molds mounted on the wheeled platform and movable alternately to positions beneath the press, and rails having notches for the reception of both sets of wheels.

3. The combination with a base, of a press, rails carried by the base and provided with notches at points under the press, a platform having sets of wheels arranged one at its opposite ends, and molds carried by the platform and movable alternately to position under the press, the notches serving to receive the wheels and assist in centering the molds under said press. 9

4:. The combination with a mold having movable sideand end plates, brackets secured to one set of plates and provided each-With a pair of cams disposed approximately at right angles to each other, and movable locking-bars having hooked end portions for engaging the cams and locking all of the plates in position.

5. The combination with a mold including movable side and end plates, of brackets carried by one setof plates, each bracket having a cam-slot and provided with a cam-face at a the nut, a platform having Wheels running on the notched rails, and a pair of molds mounted 15 on said platform.

In testimony that we claim the foregoing as our oWn We have hereto afliXed our signatures in the presence of two Witnesses.

RICHARD ARNSEN. GOTHARD ARNSEN. ARN ARNSEN.

Witnesses:

LUoIUs K. EDWARDS, GEO. B. WURTZ. 

